The aesthetic of the Tarot de Marseille (TdM) deck is available in a variety of versions. Choosing a TdM deck can be like standing in an American grocery store to choose a laundry detergent!

The historical section of this site provides background information on the evolution of the Marseilles Tarot decks. When choosing a TdM deck, essentially, there are 3 categories to consider: Deck Typology, Deck Style, and Deck Coloring Scheme.

Before we examine the deck choices, it should first be pointed out, that we use the descriptor Tarot de Marseille (TdM) perhaps more liberally than do Tarot scholars. For an excellent, in-depth analyses of the history of Tarot and the variegations of the TdM, please see Andy’s Playing Cards website . Our site also offers an historical analysis.

Secondly, we acknowledge that the Tarot de Marseille pattern was not the first Tarot to be made, but it was certainly the most popular and the most tenacious, and it boasted the aesthetic that became the seminal and recognizable “look” for subsequent tarot renditions. Even the modern day Rider-Waite deck and the Crowley Thoth deck owe their basic iconography to this decisive deck.

Although the Tarot de Marseille pattern may have originated in Italy, the card makers that made it so ubiquitous were in Marseille, France. These regional card makers strongly influenced other card makers in surrounding areas. Thus, the distinction of the TdM is its particular aesthetic, as well as its prolific distribution. Consequently, the term Tarot de Marseille herein refers to a deck-aesthetic, rather than only limiting the term to where the card was manufactured.